Comey sends irresponsible letter to Congress

Director James Comey sent an open letter to Congress this past Friday informing the Committee on Government Oversight and Reform that the FBI would be reopening the investigation on Secretary Hillary Clinton’s emails. The emails in question were found in an investigation on Anthony Weiner’s alleged sexual misconduct.

However, the letter was nondescript and brief. The director didn’t specify whether the emails discovered had anything to do with her time as secretary of state, nor does he know the contents of the emails. He sent his letter before the FBI had obtained a warrant to search the emails. The warrant was granted over the weekend.

Comey clearly didn’t consider the effects such a statement would make so close to a presidential election. Making such an innuendo to people who were previously unconvinced of Clinton’s innocence is irresponsible and potentially dangerous.

The FBI and Justice Department will be hard-pressed to investigate all the emails before Nov. 8 because there are reportedly hundreds of thousands of them.

Throwing a curveball such as this eight days before election violates Justice Department protocol. Several attorneys general have sent an internal memo (https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/ag/legacy/2009/02/10/ag-030508.pdf ) urging their employees not to open or comment on investigations that may have political ramifications. Comey’s letter violates these protocols and also disbars the bureau’s non-partisan affiliation.

President Obama has said that “we don’t operate on incomplete information,” which is exactly what Comey did. His actions may have irrevocable consequences. It may affect the outcome of the election. Another headline with the words “Clinton” and “emails” so close to Nov. 8 might end up deciding who may or may not be sworn in this coming January.

The source of these new emails, Anthony Weiner’s personal laptop, is an unlikely place for classified emails to be. Then to go to the public and write a vague letter with few details is irresponsible. Comey has been compared to the first director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, a man who spied upon civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and rightly so.

Comey has potentially done great damage to this country. He should hand in his resignation.